Battle of Rivas (Costa Rica)
The Battle of Rivas, fought on April 11, 1856, is a significant event in Costa Rican history, commemorated annually as a public holiday. This battle was part of the conflict against American mercenary William Walker, who sought to expand his influence in Central America. In response to Walker’s invasion of Costa Rica, President Juan Rafael Mora rallied an army to defend the nation, culminating in the confrontation at Rivas, Nicaragua. A notable figure from this battle is Juan Santamaría, a 17-year-old drummer boy who heroically volunteered to set fire to the enemy’s fort. His brave act, though resulting in his death, has made him a national hero, symbolizing courage and sacrifice for Costa Rica. The battle ultimately secured the country’s safety and contributed to Walker's decline in power. Santamaría's legacy endures in Costa Rica, where his story is celebrated and memorialized through statues and annual commemorations, reflecting the nation's peaceful history and national pride.
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Battle of Rivas (Costa Rica)
Battle of Rivas (Costa Rica)
April 11 of every year is a public holiday in the nation of Costa Rica, a day for honoring the anniversary of the Battle of Rivas, fought on April 11, 1856. It also honors the bravery of Juan Santamaría, who has become the national hero of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is a small Central American nation, just under 20,000 square miles in size, situated on the narrow isthmus that connects North and South America. It has the Caribbean Sea to its east and the Pacific Ocean to its west, with the nations of Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the southeast. Costa Rica has a population of nearly 4 million people, most of whom are of either European or mixed European-Native (mestizo) ancestry. The capital and largest city (with over 300,000 inhabitants) is San José, originally known as Villa Nueva (“new town”) when it was established in 1736. It was chosen to be the country's capital in 1823 after Costa Rica achieved independence.
Christopher Columbus, the first European to see its shores while sailing along the isthmus in 1502, gave the land its name, which means “rich coast.” The Spanish conquered the region during the 16th century, but it was a colonial backwater, a tiny part of the Spanish Empire in the New World. Costa Rica gained independence without bloodshed when Mexico freed itself from Spanish rule in 1821, although it was a part of Mexico until 1823. Costa Rica was able to avoid entanglement in the various military conflicts and civil wars of the region until the 1850s, when an American mercenary-adventurer, William Walker, took control of Nicaragua in June 1855. Eager to expand his domains and build an empire for himself in Central America, Walker ordered his forces to invade Costa Rica, although he himself stayed in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua to recover from a bout of malaria.
President Juan Rafael Mora of Costa Rica raised an army to repel the invaders, who were defeated in early 1856 and forced to retreat into Nicaragua. At the Nicaraguan town of Rivas, the enemy soldiers took refuge in a wooden fort. On April 11 of that year, the Battle of Rivas was fought, and a 17-year-old drummer boy from Alajuela named Juan Santamaría volunteered to torch the enemy fort. According to tradition, he ran forward bravely and set fire to the structure, although he was shot several times and died afterwards. Costa Rica thus secured its safety from Walker, who lost power in Nicaragua in 1857 and was later killed while in Honduras in 1860.
Little is known about Santamaría, but he is one of the few genuine military heroes in a country which has enjoyed a very peaceful history. He may well have died of cholera after the battle instead of bullet wounds—historical accounts are unclear—but he has nevertheless been embraced as a national hero by the Costa Rican people. The fact that he was a poor boy from an obscure background made him all the more appealing. Today, statues of him can be found all over Costa Rica.